Synopses & Reviews
Beneath the histories of religious traditions--from biblical wars to crusading ventures and great acts of martyrdom--violence has lurked as a shadowy presence. Images of death have never been far from the heart of religion's power to stir the imagination. In this wide-ranging and erudite book, Mark Juergensmeyer asks one of the most important and perplexing questions of our age: Why do religious people commit violent acts in the name of their god, taking the lives of innocent victims and terrorizing entire populations?
This, the first comparative study of religious terrorism, explores incidents such as the World Trade Center explosion, Hamas suicide bombings, the Tokyo subway nerve gas attack, and the killing of abortion clinic doctors in the United States. Incorporating personal interviews with World Trade Center bomber Mahmud Abouhalima, Christian Right activist Mike Bray, Hamas leaders Sheik Yassin and Abdul Azis Rantisi, and Sikh political leader Simranjit Singh Mann, among others, Juergensmeyer takes us into the mindset of those who perpetrate and support violent acts. In the process, he helps us understand why these acts are often associated with religious causes and why they occur with such frequency at this moment in history.
Terror in the Mind of God places these acts of violence in the context of global political and social changes, and posits them as attempts to empower the cultures of violence that support them. Juergensmeyer analyzes the economic, ideological, and gender-related dimensions of cultures that embrace a central sacred concept--cosmic war--and that employ religion to demonize their enemies.
Juergensmeyer's narrative is engaging, incisive, and sweeping in scope. He convincingly shows that while, in many cases, religion supplies not only the ideology but also the motivation and organizational structure for the perpetrators of violent acts, it also carries with it the possibilities for peace.
Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of 2000
Review
“[An] insightful and ambitious new book.”
Synopsis
In this accessible text, Mark Juergensmeyer, a pioneer in global studies, provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging field of global studies from regional, topical, and theoretical perspectives. Each of the twenty compact chapters in
Thinking Globally features Juergensmeyers own lucid introduction to the key topics and offers brief excerpts from major writers in those areas. The chapters explore the history of globalization in each region of the world, from Africa and the Middle East to Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and cover key issues in today's global era, such as:
Challenges of the global economy
Fading of the nation-state
Emerging nationalisms and transnational ideologies
Hidden economies of sex trafficking and the illegal drug trade
New communications media
Environmental crises
Human rights abuses
Thinking Globally is the perfect introduction to global studies for students, and an exceptional resource for anyone interested in learning more about this new area of study.
Synopsis
"This comprehensive reader expertly assembles pivotal contributions to the growing transdisciplinary field of global studies. Linking the pressing global issues of our time to relevant regional developments, Mark Juergensmeyer successfully challenges his readers to think globally while paying attention to their concrete local environments." Manfred B. Steger, Professor of Political Science, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and author of
Globalization: A Very Short Introduction
"Thinking Globally is the first textbook to give an effective overview of global studies as an intellectual field and emergent academic discipline. Juergensmeyer's work has the added virtue of giving a detailed account of global studies in all its complexity."Dr Peter Phipps, Global Studies, RMIT, Melbourne.
"Thinking Globally is an outstanding model of the intellectual and practical issues involved with globalization and its study."John Nemec, Associate Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia
Synopsis
Why has the turn of the twenty-first century been rocked by a new religious rebellion? From al Qaeda to Christian militias to insurgents in Iraq, a strident new religious activism has seized the imaginations of political rebels around the world. Building on his groundbreaking book, The New Cold War?: Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State, Mark Juergensmeyer here provides an up-to-date road map through this complex new religious terrain. Basing his discussion on interviews with militant activists and case studies of rebellious movements, Juergensmeyer puts a human face on conflicts that have become increasingly abstract. He revises our notions of religious revolution and offers positive proposals for responding to religious activism in ways that will diminish the violence and lead to an accommodation between radical religion and the secular world.
Synopsis
"This is an indispensable book in helping us understand the new world disorder that seems to be overtaking us. Juergensmeyer points out that much of the world neither understands nor finds attractive the idea of a 'secular state.' He helps us see that religious nationalism is a fact of life that will be with us for a long time to come. Deconstructing any simple notion of 'fundamentalism,' he shows us how it is possible to live with religious nationalism constructively without demonizing it. That is a major achievement."Robert Bellah, coauthor of
Habits of the HeartFor years, Mark Juergensmeyer has served as a kind of Cassandra figure, warning us all about the rise of religious violence, the global reach of religious nationalism, and the challenges posed by new religious identities to the secular nation-state. Now that the world is finally listening, Juergensmeyer remains our best guide in unraveling the complex interplay between religion and politics in the modern world. Global Rebellion once again demonstrates why Juergensmeyer is the foremost authority on the global sociology of religion. This is an awe-inspiring work by arguably the most important thinker on the subject. Reza Aslan, author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
Synopsis
"By studying different 'cultures of violence' Mark Juergensmeyer has provided a plausible and imaginative interpretation of this phenomenon. He presents a lucid and compelling argument that does not belittle or demonize its subjects. This is an important contribution to our knowledge of the relationship between religion and violence."and#151;Martha Crenshaw, editor of
Terrorism in Context "In this important book Juergensmeyer argues that the violence associated with religion is not an aberration but comes from the fundamental structures of the belief system of all major religions. Juergensmeyer has achieved what very few scholars can do with much success, providing an insightful analysis of the function of religion in national and international life while moving in broad sweeps from culture to culture and continent to continent."and#151;Ainslie T. Embree, former cultural attachand#233;, United States Embassy, New Delhi
"Half of the world's thirty most dangerous terrorist groups claim religion as their motivation. How can the word of God sanction acts of terror against human beings ? How can violence become a sacred duty ? These are the questions at the heart of Mark Juergensmeyer's calm, lucid, insightful and compassionate book. What sets it apart is Juergensmeyer's dedicated attempt to talk to former terrorists and work his way into their state of mind. His book shines light on the dark places from which terror springs." and#151; Michael Ignatieff, author of The Warrior's Honour: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience
Synopsis
Will the religious confrontations with secular authorities around the world lead to a new Cold War? Mark Juergensmeyer paints a provocative picture of the new religious revolutionaries altering the political landscape in the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. Impassioned Muslim leaders in Egypt, Palestine, and Algeria, political rabbis in Israel, militant Sikhs in India, and triumphant Catholic clergy in Eastern Europe are all players in Juergensmeyer's study of the explosive growth of religious movements that decisively reject Western ideas of secular nationalism.
Juergensmeyer revises our notions of religious revolutions. Instead of viewing religious nationalists as wild-eyed, anti-American fanatics, he reveals them as modern activists pursuing a legitimate form of politics. He explores the positive role religion can play in the political life of modern nations, even while acknowledging some religious nationalists' proclivity to violence and disregard of Western notions of human rights. Finally, he situates the growth of religious nationalism in the context of the political malaise of the modern West. Noting that the synthesis of traditional religion and secular nationalism yields a religious version of the modern nation-state, Juergensmeyer claims that such a political entity could conceivably embrace democratic values and human rights.
Synopsis
Gandhis Way provides a primer of Mahatma Gandhis principles of moral action and conflict resolution and offers a straightforward, step-by-step approach that can be used in any conflict-at home or in business; in local, national, or international arenas. This invaluable handbook, updated with a new preface and a new case study on terrorism in Northern Ireland, sets out Gandhis basic methods and illustrates them with practical examples. Juergensmeyer shows how parties at odds can rise above a narrow view of self-interest to find resolutions that are satisfying and beneficial to all involved. He then pits Gandhis ideas against those of other great social thinkers in a series of imaginary debates that challenge and clarify Gandhis thinking on issues of violence, anger, and love. He also provides a Gandhian critique of Gandhi himself and offers viable solutions to some of the gaps in Gandhian theory.
Gandhis Way: A Handbook of Conflict Resolution was previously published as Fighting with Gandhi and Fighting Fair.
Synopsis
A fascinating, thought-provoking, helpful and heartening book.”
Los Angeles TimesJuergensmeyers book is something of a Gandhian tour de force a careful analysis and series of applications of Gandhis concepts of satyagraha
to everyday situations with which most Western readers are familiar.”Religious Studies Review
This is a manual of instruction in the best sense: a popular reassessment of the activist use of satyagraha in conflict resolution that has depth and a true appreciation for the ethical subtleties of dialectical struggles, and for the multiple dimensions of passive resistance.”Library Journal
About the Author
Mark Juergensmeyer is Professor of Sociology and Global Studies and Director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. A scholar and writer best known for his studies of religious violence and global religion, he has also written on conflict resolution and on South Asian religion and society. He has authored or edited over twenty books, including Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State and the UC Press best-seller Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence.
Table of Contents
Preface to the 2005 Edition
SECTION I. THE GANDHIAN FIGHT
1. Fighting a Gandhian Fight
2. Why Fight at All?
3. How Do You Know When You're Right?
4. Violence: The Breakwoen of a Fight
5. What to Do with a Recalcitrant Opponent
6. The Weapon: The Goal Itself
7. The Power of Noncooperation
8. Fighting a Very Big Fight
9. How Do You Know When You've Won?
10. Some Basic Rules
SECTION II. CASE STUDIES
Looking At Cases
Case #1: A Family Feud
Case #2: The Endangered Employees
Case #3: A Lonely Decision
Case #4: A Peaceful End to Irish Terrorism
Case #5: A Tragic Resistance
SECTION III. SOME SMALL QUARRELS
Conversations in the Mind
Issue #1: Can Violence Ever Be Justified?Gandhi v. Marx
Issue #2: Can Anger Be True?Gandhi v. Freud
Issue #3: Is a Force of Love Realistic?Gandhi v. Niebuhr
Issue #4: Was Gandhi Always a Gandhian?Mohandas v. the Mahatma
Notes
Index